K9999

K9999, pronounced "K Four-Nine" (ケイフォーナイン, Kei Fō Nain^?) is a character in The King of Fighters series, who debuts as a member of the NESTS team in The King of Fighters 2001.

Development

His character design is heavily inspired by the character Tetsuo Shima from the 1988 animated film Akira (which was adapted from the manga of the same name). His name is a homage to a character in the anime, Armored Trooper Votoms. SNK has expressed public disfavor for K9999 due to the explicitness of his tribute, and it is highly unlikely he will appear in the future. Nameless was later created to specifically represent and replace him in subsequent titles as a stand-in.

Despite the apparent disfavor of SNK, many people have expressed desire to see K9999 return to the series in spite of the possible copyright conflict. During a Q&A with Yasuyuki Oda at Gamescom, a fan asked about K9999's whereabouts. Oda answered, "Maybe one day we’ll find out what happened to Angel’s partner, K9999."^[1]

In a 2005 poll made by SNK Playmore USA, he was voted as the seventh fan favorite character with a total of 156 votes.^{[citation needed]}

He is voiced by Nozomu Sasaki, alluding further to his voice role as the aforementioned Tetsuo Shima (even reciting some of Tetsuo's lines from the movie for many of his battle quotes and having similar gestures).

Story

Angel and K9999 after NESTS downfall. Illustration by Hiroaki.

After the death of Krizalid and the disappearance of K', NESTS decided to comb their research for errors. K9999 became the "perfected" 9999th Kyo Kusanagi clone. Built from the ground up, K9999 wielded an exorbitant amount of power. The blue glove he wears helps him control his shapeshifting powers and keep them from going berserk. His main purpose was to dispatch the rogue creations that had escaped from NESTS's grasp. He apparently does not discover that he is a clone himself until after the destruction of the cartel.

While it is implied that Foxy is killed by him and Angel, this ending is considered non-canon. According to the second 2001 novel written by Akihiko Ureshino, he disappears after an encounter with K' and Kula alongside Angel. His whereabouts and fate are unknown. ^[2]

Personality

K9999 is considered to be a man not to be tampered with. He has a very short temper and is easily driven to violence. He hates K' with a passion, and considers him his ultimate rival. He also develops a rivalry with Kusanagi in The King of Fighters 2002, though this is non-canon. Angel is the only one he considers to be a friend.

Powers

Pyrokinesis - K9999 can control fire, but his ability is quite limited in comparison to Kyo Kusanagi, Iori Yagami or even K'. He can only create fire, cause highly-heated gas to erupt from the ground in front of him, and attack with streams of fire in a slashing manner.
Limited Shapeshifting - K9999 can shapeshift his hair to resemble K's. K9999 can also shapeshift his clothes.
Psionic Shield - K9999 can create a moon-shaped shield of psychic energy.
Tentacle - K9999 can transform his right arm into a fleshy tentacle and fling it at his opponents.
Polymorphic Arm - K9999 can transform his right arm into an iron drill, a blade or a shotgun-like weapon.
Full Power Energy Attack - By using his full power, K9999 can release energy through the air causing damage to anyone nearby. This power is non-canon since it is exclusively used in The King of Fighters 2002, a Dream Match.

Fighting Style

K9999 fights with his polymorphic arm. The arm can transform into claws, blades of different sizes and shapes, and into a shotgun. He knows some basic fighting techniques. All of his move names are quotes taken from the movie Akira, as well as mimicking several iconic stills from the said movie in his attack motions.

In the American and European releases, his gun arm was censored-- changed to just his fist and the explosions.

K9999 is one of the very few characters in fighting game history to not have his cr.D or a crouching strongest normal as his standard sweep; his cr.C acts as one instead. Another notable example in SNK universe is Mr. Big.

Music

NESTS: Ruler of the Dark - The King of Fighters 2001
Napolitan Trance - The King of Fighters 2002

Game Appearances

The King of Fighters 2001
The King of Fighters 2002 - potential mid-boss
KOF X Fatal Fury

Cameo Appearances

Days of Memories (seventh title)
The King of Fighters 2003 - in the Egypt stage, PS2 and Xbox versions only
The King of Fighters '94: Rebout - in the Mexico stage
KOF: Maximum Impact 2

Similar Characters

Nameless

Trivia

Though K9999 does not appear in The King of Fighters Neowave, his data remains in the arcade version and can be selected using external cheat devices. Here, he uses Kyo's icon on the select screen and Kula's while in battle. In battle, his color palette is bugged, but is otherwise fully functional.
Due to his supposed retconning, in The King of Fighters Character Encyclopaedia, he's the only character who's artwork is censored into being a silhouette. Likewise, he has also been redacted from KOF XIV's gallery.
His special intro against Kusanagi is yet another direct homage of the anime film Akira. Kusanagi's voice actor before KOF Sky Stage, Mitsuo Iwata, also voiced the character Shōtarō Kaneda, Tetsuo's nemesis and prior best friend.